The 2009 Christmas Card designs are now available! Each card is 5x7 double sided with text that can be fully customized (envelopes included). Contact us to order your cards or schedule a session. The holdiays are approaching fast so get your orders in soon!
Click link below for card design samples:
http://image6.photobiz.com/2302/20091026190120_49957.pdf
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hire a friend or a Professional???
Hello all. This blog post is a result of an article I recently read regarding people asking friends to take their wedding photos for free or extremely cheap vs. hiring a professional. We see it time and time again where somone will ask their friend and the result is what we call a point and shoot snapshot. Nothing interesting, no emotion, terrible lighting and it's just a picture. As professionals we take great time ,energy, and expense to make you and your photographs look the very best they can and are constantly reading, studying, and experimenting to make sure we always get the best. I have copied the article I read. I hope it will shed some light on what the difference is.
Article from Seatle Bride Magazine:
I consider myself a pretty good amateur photographer. I’ve taken a couple of classes, I have a nice Nikon D60 and, as a professional travel writer, I’ve even had a few of my shots make magazine covers and pages. If you didn’t budget for a professional photographer at your wedding, I’m the friend you might call to take pictures. So when Seattle Bride sent me to the late-winter wedding of Vicky Wu and Chris Nicoll to shoot alongside Joey Hong of John & Joseph Photography, a local award-winning team of two brothers who have been shooting commercial, fashion and wedding photography for more than eight years, I was curious to see how well I could keep up with a seasoned pro. From the moment we started shooting in the bride and groom’s hotel room, I was floored. “Vicky, look down at your shoulders…put a gentle smile on your lips. Chris, look straight at my lens—no, smile. Relax your forehead.” Joey’s attention to such minute detail went way beyond “Say cheese” and brought out the couple’s absolute best. He knew how to manipulate the room’s light and reflective surfaces in ways I never would have dreamed of, transforming what I thought was an unremarkable setting into a photo studio with endless possibilities. Joey commanded family portraits with a gentle control and confidence that only comes from years of experience. He had the right flashes and steadiness of hand for getting great dance photos, while I snapped shot after blurry shot in a mild panic that my precious memory space was quickly dwindling. I was giving it my best, and in a few instances it showed: an inside shot of Vicky simply glowing in the window’s natural light; a close-up kiss in the sunlight where the couple wore the sweetest smiles. But when those spontaneous moments that are here and gone in the blink of an eye happened, Joey caught them with lightning speed, while I lost many of them to improper focus or exposure. I now disagree more than ever with the digital-age adage that “now everyone is a photographer.” Tens of thousands of dollars in education, equipment and experience separate me from the pros. Professional photographers, like any other artists or business owners, need to spend money to make money. When you hire them, you’re helping them pay for their investments. “Photography is a very equipment-intensive business, and the equipment is expensive,” says Scott Squire of NonFiction Weddings, a Seattle-based photography team with 10 years of experience. To each wedding, he and his partner bring six or seven top-drawer lenses, a handful of strobes, three camera bodies, one backup and innumerable accessories. (In contrast, if my equipment had failed, my backup would have been my camera phone.) Staying on top of new technology in the digital age is its own challenge, one that takes a professional commitment and expense. “The rate of change [in digital media] can be stupefying,” laughs longtime Seattle-based wedding photographer Sharlane Chase. She keeps up with the flow of information at annual weeklong workshops and seminars, and it shows in her final product. On a side note, like all of you reading this magazine, I also happen to be planning my own wedding. My fiancé and I are on a tight budget and had planned to take a gamble and hire an amateur photographer friend. Now? We’re determined to find a way to get a pro. Vicky and Chris would have been pretty disappointed if I had been their only photographer. If anyone ever does ask me to take pictures at their wedding, I’ll be happy to show up with my Nikon, and I may even take the best disposable-camera shots of the whole night. I just hope someone like Joey is there, too.
Article from Seatle Bride Magazine:
I consider myself a pretty good amateur photographer. I’ve taken a couple of classes, I have a nice Nikon D60 and, as a professional travel writer, I’ve even had a few of my shots make magazine covers and pages. If you didn’t budget for a professional photographer at your wedding, I’m the friend you might call to take pictures. So when Seattle Bride sent me to the late-winter wedding of Vicky Wu and Chris Nicoll to shoot alongside Joey Hong of John & Joseph Photography, a local award-winning team of two brothers who have been shooting commercial, fashion and wedding photography for more than eight years, I was curious to see how well I could keep up with a seasoned pro. From the moment we started shooting in the bride and groom’s hotel room, I was floored. “Vicky, look down at your shoulders…put a gentle smile on your lips. Chris, look straight at my lens—no, smile. Relax your forehead.” Joey’s attention to such minute detail went way beyond “Say cheese” and brought out the couple’s absolute best. He knew how to manipulate the room’s light and reflective surfaces in ways I never would have dreamed of, transforming what I thought was an unremarkable setting into a photo studio with endless possibilities. Joey commanded family portraits with a gentle control and confidence that only comes from years of experience. He had the right flashes and steadiness of hand for getting great dance photos, while I snapped shot after blurry shot in a mild panic that my precious memory space was quickly dwindling. I was giving it my best, and in a few instances it showed: an inside shot of Vicky simply glowing in the window’s natural light; a close-up kiss in the sunlight where the couple wore the sweetest smiles. But when those spontaneous moments that are here and gone in the blink of an eye happened, Joey caught them with lightning speed, while I lost many of them to improper focus or exposure. I now disagree more than ever with the digital-age adage that “now everyone is a photographer.” Tens of thousands of dollars in education, equipment and experience separate me from the pros. Professional photographers, like any other artists or business owners, need to spend money to make money. When you hire them, you’re helping them pay for their investments. “Photography is a very equipment-intensive business, and the equipment is expensive,” says Scott Squire of NonFiction Weddings, a Seattle-based photography team with 10 years of experience. To each wedding, he and his partner bring six or seven top-drawer lenses, a handful of strobes, three camera bodies, one backup and innumerable accessories. (In contrast, if my equipment had failed, my backup would have been my camera phone.) Staying on top of new technology in the digital age is its own challenge, one that takes a professional commitment and expense. “The rate of change [in digital media] can be stupefying,” laughs longtime Seattle-based wedding photographer Sharlane Chase. She keeps up with the flow of information at annual weeklong workshops and seminars, and it shows in her final product. On a side note, like all of you reading this magazine, I also happen to be planning my own wedding. My fiancé and I are on a tight budget and had planned to take a gamble and hire an amateur photographer friend. Now? We’re determined to find a way to get a pro. Vicky and Chris would have been pretty disappointed if I had been their only photographer. If anyone ever does ask me to take pictures at their wedding, I’ll be happy to show up with my Nikon, and I may even take the best disposable-camera shots of the whole night. I just hope someone like Joey is there, too.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wendy and Chris
Does it get much more beautiful than a beach wedding? Wendy and Chris certainly had one. They are a great couple and high school sweethearts. We had so many great shots from this wedding. Here are just a few.....
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sherrie and Adib - 5.31.09
It's been a little while since we blogged last. We have been pretty busy with everything. We had the opportunity to shoot the wedding of Sherrie and Adib El-Anim on May 31. What a great couple! Heather and I really enjoyed ourself. They both have very entertaining families and combined is extremely entertaining. The wedding was held at the beautiful Yankee Hall Plantation. Here are a few shots from the day....
Monday, May 11, 2009
My First Mother's Day
I just had to write a post to tell everyone that I had a wonderful first Mother's day weekend! Todd and I had a bridal shoot at Tryon Palace in New Bern NC. We had so much fun walking around and photographing places for the shoot! Did I mention it was a nice sunny day!! Luckily we were there early and we really captured some great shots. .......(these shots will post after the bride and groom get married) .
Sunday I was given one of the best gifts a mom could get... Todd had designed an album for me with pictures starting with maternity pictures and then pictures of the day Olivia was born, the day we came home up to her 6 month picture and of course it read like a story of our lives together thus far. Of course their were tears!!!!!! This album is something I will be able to cherish for a long time to come and to also pass it down to Olivia when she is older.
So if you are looking for a great way to mark this special gift .... I like to call it "a journey to Motherhood." We can help you create this album. For more information email or call us and we can give you more details.
Here are some of the pictures that were in my album
Heather
Sunday I was given one of the best gifts a mom could get... Todd had designed an album for me with pictures starting with maternity pictures and then pictures of the day Olivia was born, the day we came home up to her 6 month picture and of course it read like a story of our lives together thus far. Of course their were tears!!!!!! This album is something I will be able to cherish for a long time to come and to also pass it down to Olivia when she is older.
So if you are looking for a great way to mark this special gift .... I like to call it "a journey to Motherhood." We can help you create this album. For more information email or call us and we can give you more details.
Here are some of the pictures that were in my album
Heather
Monday, May 4, 2009
Hanging out with Joshua
Last Thursday I had a chance to meet the a little boy with the biggest personality! I love it when a child walks in and automatically feels at home. I knew he was going to be a great model. As we headed to the studio and I told him where to stand he just started posing for me. GREAT! I just started taking pictures and this was a quick photo session. Thanks to Joshua for being a great sport and climbing trees for us! Here are a few photos from the shoot...
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Prom Day Fun with Alexis and Corey
We had a very fun shoot with Alexis and Corey Saturday afternoon. They were heading to their senior prom and asked us to shoot the memory for them. They wanted something different from the typical eastern NC prom shots. We chose downtown Washington, NC which has many many photo opportunities. They were good sports (thanks Corey) and went along with whatever we had in mind. Scary I know but we had a great time with the couple and achieved the goal of something a little different from your typical prom shots, at least we think so! Here are a few from the day....
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Melody and Bill
Heather and I had the opportunity to photograph the wedding of a great couple last Saturday, Bill and Melody Ward. It was kind of different for us since we did not actually meet them in person until the day before the wedding because they live in New York. After only meeting and being with them for a few hours we now feel as if we have known them forever. Bill has a passion for photography and Melody has a graphic design background so they were more than willing to let us do whatever we wanted which is great for us. We also had the chance to meet another great wedding photographer from Nashville, TN who is a friend of theirs, Evan Baines. Small world!! Here are a few from the day. Enjoy!!
Todd and Heather
Todd and Heather
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Happy Birthday Anna Reid
I had a wonderful time yesterday visiting with my friend Molly and her mother along with Molly's two daughters Carson and Anna Reid Moore. Molly and her mother along with Carson babysat for Olivia while I snapped some great shots of Anna Reid! I think I have found my babysitters! Again it was great to see all of them and it makes me realize time sure does fly by and children do grow up fast! Happy Birthday Anna Reid!!!
Here are a couple of shots from yesterday's shoot
Heather
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Two's Company
We recently had the opportunity to shoot 2 great models, Hayes and Mary Robert Eason. These adorable twins were perfect and very cooperative. We actually were able to get the near impossible to happen. They both fell asleep during the shoot. I am not sure what that says about us. I am going with it is because of our very relaxed and laid back sessions. Nonetheless it offered us some great shots and about as good as it can get with 3 month old babies. A special thanks to Marybeth (mom) and her mom for helping keep them so satisfied throughout. Here are a few of the many great shots we got.
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